This volume was published to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Star Trek in 2016, and, as the title suggests, it features Trek-themed art work, in a variety of different styles and media, by fifty different artists. It also includes very short interviews with each of the authors, in which they were asked about the creation of their pieces and their relationship with Star Trek. Honestly, I didn't find most of the interviews all that interesting (although a few of them were fun), but the art itself was delightful. There's lots of big, bold creative stuff here, much of it with wonderful touches of whimsy, and the oversized format of the book shows them off to excellent effect.

I think characters from pretty much every Trek series get a look-in here, but the focus is mostly on the original series, and, to a lesser extent, the Next Generation. Unsurprisingly there is a lot of Spock, in particular. Because who doesn't love Spock? And many of the artists mention having heard the news of Leonard Nimoy's death while in the process of working on their pieces, so in addition to a celebration of Star Trek as a whole, there's also a feeling that much of the book stands in tribute to him, as well.

Some artists here have chosen to depict as many characters, major and minor, as they can possibly squeeze in -- and I have to say, I could happily stare at those all day, taking in all of the little details -- or to capture the feeling of the series as a whole in some fashion or other. Others have chose to focus on particular characters, episodes, scenes, or moments. (Kirk fighting the Gorn, it turns out, is a very popular subject.) But they're all tons of fun, and the collection as a whole is very, very cool. Definitely recommended for anyone who is or has been a fan of classic Star Trek. ( )

Nice pictures, and the interviews were interesting if a little repetitive. ( )